Cullen Confirmed as Leinster Head Coach

19 August 2015

Leo Cullen is the new head coach of Leinster.

The former captain and forwards coach had been in temporary charge since the departure of Matt O'Connor back in May. Capped 221 times for the province Cullen also won three Heineken Cups during his playing days. He's signed a two year deal.

Kurt McQuilkin's short term agreement as defence coach has now been extended to a two year contract while John Fogarty will continue as scrum coach. Girvan Dempsey will remain as backs coach until Richie Murphy's World Cup commitments with Ireland come to an end.

Leinster Rugby CEO Mick Dawson says "We are delighted that Leo has agreed to become our Head Coach and to continue an association with Leinster Rugby that started back in 1995 with the schools team. We are all very much looking forward to the next two years under his tutelage."

Dawson outlined some of the reasoning behind the appointment and what made Leo such an outstanding candidate "Leo's status as a player is beyond question. He is second only to Gordon D'Arcy in terms of senior appearances and he was an outstanding captain and leader on the pitch. Over the last 12 months or so in his capacity with the forwards and indeed over the pre-season as interim Head Coach, Leo has continued to impress everyone at Leinster with his tactical and strategic direction."

The Leinster Rugby CEO also gave some indication as to the recruitment process involved. "It was a thorough and robust interview process and we took our time to ensure that this was the case. The process included the input of all relevant stakeholders, and ultimately Leo was the best candidate that we interviewed."

Cullen's first game in charge will be Friday's pre-season friendly against Ulster at Kingspan Stadium while his first home game in charge will be a pre-season match with Moseley RFC in Donnybrook Stadium on Friday, August 28th.